Acanthostichus arizonensis
by LileyKigoSpashleyRizzslesLover
Summary: When the team is sent across the country they find unexpected confessions outside the interrogation room. Zabby.
1. Chapter 1

_Acanthostichus arizonensis_

Summary: When the team is sent across the country they find unexpected confessions outside the interrogation room. Zabby.

Chapter 1

"Abby." Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs spoke behind said girl.

Forensic scientist Abigail Sciuto jumped. "Gibbs! I swear you're like a ninja sometimes." Something red catches her eye. "Ooh, yay! You brought me a Caf-pow! You never bring me one when there's no case." She took a sip as Gibbs turned around and headed towards the door.

"Come on, we haven't got all day, Abs." He spoke loudly from the hallway.

Abby got a quizzical look before she followed him outside her lab and into the elevator.

"Do you know what's going on Tony?" Special Agent Timothy McGee asked.

"Why would _I_ know, probie?" Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo asked, somewhat annoyed.

"Well you are the one who keeps ragging about being senior field agent." Special Agent Ziva David stated with a smirk.

"Bragging, Ziva." Abby smiled stepping beside the Israeli. Ziva flashed a quick smile back.

"Boss, what are we-"he got suddenly head slapped.

"Got a dead marine in Washington. Pack your bags and report back here at 1530." He took a sip of his coffee, threw it away, and walked out.

"This _is_ Washington, is it not?"

"State, Zee-Vah, Washington state." Tony said and left the bullpen behind McGee, complaining about the needless head slap.

"Well, that explains this." Abby lifted up her Caf-Pow. "Do you think he meant me too?" She asked to no one in particular.

"Well of course Abigail. Why else would you be brought up here?" Dr. Donald 'Ducky' Mallard said.

"Makes sense, but I won't be of any use without my lab.

"I am sure Gibbs has already thought of that. There is most likely a lab over there you can use, yes?"

"Yeah, good point, Zee." Abby took a rather large sip, grinned, and then left with a bye to the both of them.

"Uh, boss, why are _we_ going there? There are closer NCIS agencies."

"Our team was requested by the wife, McGee."

"Why?"

"Does it matter?" He gives him 'the Gibbs look'. McGee shook his head and looked away.

XXXXX

"American Airlines flight 1301 is now boarding rows 30-40." The intercom boomed. They all stood up and headed for the already forming line.

"Abby? What is the matter?" Ziva asked.

Abby's head shot up from its fixated position towards the ground. "Huh? Noth- nothing's wrong. I'm fine. I'm better than fine. I'm… fine and dandy." She let out a nervous laugh.

Ziva gave her a non-believing look before she had to show her ticket and board the plane.

"Jethro, do you mind if I have the window seat?" Ducky asked as he put his bag in the overhead compartment. "There is an interesting story about how windows on airplanes came about, you see…"

"Abby sit, I will put your bag up here." She took the bag from the scientist. Abby plopped down in the middle seat. "Hmm… I had you pigged as a window seat type of girl."

Abby gave Ziva a nervous-shy smile before replying. "Pegged. And I'm kinda afraid of flying."

"You, Abby? You sleep in a coffin and drive a hearse." She said in a disbelieving tone as she took a seat next to the window.

"Well, when I was five, Uncle Fred took me and my cousin Alex on a trip to Disneyland. On the way there it was really turbulent and the plane got struck by lightning. We fell for like 600 feet. I've been afraid of flying ever since."

"Why did you not say so before?"

"Well, I'm embarrassed to tell _you _something like that."

"Me? Why?"

"Seriously? You're Ziva! You were trained to kill! You're not afraid of anything and I thought that if I told you I was afraid, you'd make fun of me, like you would to McGee."

"Hey!" McGee said, insulted, next to Abby.

"Sorry Timmy, but it's true. Right Ziva?" Abby asked.

She laughed. "Yes. But I would never make fun of _you_, Abigail."

Abby froze, suddenly struck with an intense feeling. She had never heard someone say her full name so… beautifully before.

"Abby?" Ziva leaned a little towards her, worried at the silence that overcame the normally talkative girl.

Said girl snapped back to reality. She blushed at the close proximity of the other girl. "Oh! Uh… sorry, I just kinda spaced out a little."

Ziva smiled, then leaned back into her seat and looked out the window. "And that is not true… about me not being afraid of anything."

"Wha-" Abby started but got cut off by the intercom.

"This is your captain speaking. Please be sure your seats and trays are in the upright and locked position. We will be landing in Seattle in approximately four hours and forty-five minutes. Please buckle your seatbelts and remain seated until the indicator light is off. Enjoy your flight."

As the plane started to taxi down the runway, Abby's nervousness grew. She scooted closer towards Ziva, reached out and hugged the Israeli's arm close to her. Ziva tensed up and Abby pulled away with a pink tint to her cheeks. "Oh! I'm sorry I don't even know what I was doing, I jus-"

"It is fine, Abby. You surprised me, is all." She said then, blushing, offered her arm to Abby.

"Thanks, Zee." She smiled and hugged the given arm tighter.

"It is not a problem." Ziva smiled back.

"Psst… Probie." Tony whispered from the seat across the aisle.

"What?"He looked towards him.

"You seein' what I think I'm seein'?" he points to the girls.

"If you are seeing a scared Abby being comforted by Ziva, then yes."

"If I weren't buckled in I'd head slap you right now. You gotta look closer. The smiles, blushing. C'mon I'm all the way over here and I can feel the sexual tension."

"That's because you are still stuck in frat boy mode, Tony. Everything is surrounded in that to you. And just a warning, I wouldn't let Ziva hear what you are saying if you value your life."

"Would not let me hear what, McGee?"

"Uh… Ask Tony. I'm not getting in the middle of this."

"Tony?" She said as she looked over at him testily.

"Uh… Boss! What are we gon-"he looked behind Ziva and saw Gibbs asleep. He paled and tried to think of a way to diffuse the very dangerous situation he put himself in when a ding signaled the seatbelt light being turned off.

"You are in luck, Tony. I need to use the restroom. You should find a way to pass the time that does not involve digging your own grave, yes?"

Tony breathed a sigh of relief.

Ziva unbuckled her seatbelt. "I will be right back, Abby. I am sure, if you need to, McGee will allow you to hold onto him." She looked over at him. "Correct?"

"Yeah, Abby. It's alright, I'm here." He gave Abby a reassuring smile.

Ziva stood up and attempted to pass by Abby's seat when there was a sudden episode of turbulence. She fell forward and caught herself by placing both hands on either side of Abby's head. She found herself mere inches from the other girl.

Abby's eyes widened and her breathing hitched. She looked at Ziva's eyes and saw them dart from her eyes to her black lipstick-covered lips, which caused her heart rate to increase even further.

"Ziva, you okay?" Their trance was broken by McGee's voice. He took his hand away from her shoulder which he had stuck out to try and stop her fall.

Ziva shot up, blushing madly. She muttered out an 'I am fine, thank you' and made her way to the restroom wondering what had gotten into her, she surely had never reacted like that to anything before.

"Do you – Uh…" McGee started to ask while lifting up his arm towards Abby. She nodded and hugged the arm, while trying to figure out what just happened.

Meanwhile, Tony, who saw the whole event, was about to make a typical DiNozzo remark about the scene until he realized that, if Ziva found out, he'd be dead. He made a mental note to head slap probie later for interrupting what he thought was going to happen.

Ziva came back from the restroom, still trying to figure out what she was feeling. She sat down and, noticing Abby hugging onto McGee, made no move to offer her arm back to her. She felt something. Something she _knew _she had felt before. But she knew this was different somehow. Why is she feeling jealousy? There was nothing to be jealous of, was there? Her inner rant was interrupted by her arm being yanked from the spot close to her body and being hugged by the girl next to her.

"I feel safer with you." Abby smiled at Ziva, which tugged at the latter girl's heart. Her jealousy was gone. She was confused. Was she jealous of McGee? She couldn't understand why until she looked at the still fairly scared girl sitting next to her. She was violently struck with a very pleasant emotion and knew she had felt something like this before but defiantly not to this extreme.

Almost half the flight went by with her mind working furiously to solve this puzzle when Abby nodded asleep on her shoulder, still hugging her arm tightly. Ziva wanted to stay like this forever. It was definitely an odd thought for the ex- Mossad officer but she felt as if she needed to stay close to Abby. Suddenly something dawned on her. Did she like Abby? She could never imagine being without the ever cheerful goth. She never entertained the idea of being with another woman until now but she knew she wanted to be with the other girl. Is it at all possible Abby would want to be with her as well? She continued that line of thinking for quite some time until the pilot interrupted her thoughts.

"This is your captain speaking. We are about to begin our descent, so please put all seats and trays to their upright and locked position. It is a lovely evening here in Seattle at 72 degrees. The time is six oh two pacific. I hope you enjoyed your flight on American Airlines."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

They picked up their bags from the carousal. Tony spotted Gibbs' name on a piece of paper being held by one of two men standing there looking around for obvious signs of a federal agent. "Boss." He said getting Gibbs' attention. He pointed to the men and Gibbs nodded.

"C'mon."Gibbs said leading his team over to the agents. "I'm Gibbs." He stated to the men.

"Oh! I am Special Agent Owen Johnson and this is Special Agent James Miller. We are from the NCIS northwest field office, here to escort you to the crime scene."

Gibbs shook his hand then pointed to each person as he said their name. "These are Special Agents Tony Dinozzo, Timothy McGee, and Ziva David, our forensic scientist Abby Sciuto, and our M.E. Dr. Donald Mallard."

Owen scoffed during the introduction of Ziva and Abby, and after Gibbs was done speaking he only shook hands with the men. James, however, shook hands with everyone and acted like a true gentleman.

With Owen taking the lead the team made their way to the two NCIS cars in the parking lot. Abby, Ziva, and Gibbs went with James and the other three went with Owen.

"I'm sorry about my partner's behavior, ladies. He's really used to only working with males and getting his way." James said on their way to the victims house.

"Don't apologize; it's a sign of weakness. Especially don't apologize for someone else's behavior." Gibbs said from his spot in the passenger seat.

"Uh… yes, sir." He nodded his head and put his full attention back on the road.

In the other car, McGee started to talk. "Uh, Owen, I gotta warn you. If you pull anything like that again, you will be faced with _a lot_ of bodily harm. Ziva's trained to kill."

"Pff, Dude, she's a girl, I don't care how she's trained there's no way she can take me."

"He's just trying to warn you. Trust us, Ziva's pretty intense." Tony informed. "And Gibbs is extremely protective of Abby."

"Whatever." Owen said.

"Excuse me, Mr. Johnson, has the crime scene been touched since the wife found the body at seven this morning?" Ducky asked a few minutes later.

"No. We got the call, went over there and interviewed her. She said she couldn't go near the body and she didn't touch anything surrounding it. We put up tape and have agents watching the house." Owen replied.

Ducky nodded and they rode in silence the rest of the way there.

XXXXX

The cars were parked and they headed into the house with their borrowed equipment.

"Ziva, follow up on the wife's interview. McGee, ask around. See if the neighbors saw anything. DiNozzo, Abby, you know what to do."

Ziva began to go through the list of things she normally inquired about and asked the wife to elaborate on the answers she had previously given.

Abby and Tony began taking pictures of anything and everything in the bloody kitchen. They then bagged evidence and dusted and lifted prints as Ducky was doing the preliminary external examination on the body.

"Boss, one of the neighbors said they were out jogging by this house and they remembered hearing some noises, like sticks snapping and leaves rustling, she knew that the victim usually goes for a run in the morning and she didn't think much of it until now."

"Where did these noises come from?" Gibbs asked.

"Back or side yard, she wasn't even sure it was from this house." McGee replied.

"Check it out, McGee." He ordered.

McGee nodded than went through the back door. The backyard was barren, full of dirt. No way had a twig snapped or a leaf rustled here. He scanned the yard and found nothing suspicious. He looked beyond the massive concrete wall and saw a large tree. He went back into the house for a few minutes and then came back outside. Scratching his head, he walked over and looked at the wall, seemingly trying to find an answer. He jumped up and tried to climb it, but had no success.

"Have you learned nothing from those harassment seminars we have to sit through every year, Elf Lord?" Tony asked walking over to McGee as he was sliding back down the wall.

"Very funny, Tony. Actually, I'm trying to get to the other side. A neighbor reported hearing noises of snapping sticks and rustling leaves in this area and since there's nothing of that sort back here I need to go back there. Help me up."

Tony laughs. "I don't think so. Go get a ladder, probie."

"You think I haven't already looked?"

"Alright, get down, I'll stand on your shoulders."

"But Gibbs told me to check it out back here."

"And he told me to help you, so _down._" He ordered, pointing to the ground.

McGee sighed, sensing that he would be fighting a losing battle if he argued, and stooped down. Tony put a foot on one of McGee's shoulders, steadied himself against the wall, and put his other foot on the other shoulder. McGee slowly began to stand up. He tried hard to keep Tony balanced on his shoulders.

"It's still too high, you need to jump."

McGee blanched. "_Jump_?" he asked incredulously. "I can barely stay standing." He widened his stance and bent his knees to prepare to jump, but his legs gave out. They landed hard in a heap on the ground. They stood up, wiped themselves off and heard laughter. The two of them turned around to see Ziva still chuckling.

"What exactly were you trying to do? Break a leg?" She walked over to them.

"We were trying to get back…" She scaled the wall Tony was pointing to with ease. "There. Show off!" He yelled with an eye roll.

"Do you see anything, Ziva?" McGee asked.

"Nothing ye-… wait, I see something here." She knelt down to examine it, and then stood back up. "Somebody toss over my bag!" She yelled and her bag soon appeared from over the fence. "Thanks!" She opened up the bag and took out the camera. She took a few shots of the ground around the tree. There were crumpled leaves smashed into the mud, making footprints. She measured the prints and jotted things down in her notepad. She then studied the tree and saw bits of broken glass embedded in the bark. She photographed it, used tweezers to remove the glass and placed it into evidence bags. She searched around quickly to see if she missed anything. She then put the backpack on and scaled the wall again.

"What'd you find?" McGee asked as they headed towards the house.

"A Footprint, some glass, and a lot of bugs." She flicked an ant off of her arm. They went inside and reported their findings to Gibbs.

"I am done with my preliminary examination, Jethro. All seems normal. Except the gunshot wound to the head was dead center, poor fellow."

"Standard execution style. Time of death?" Gibbs asked.

"Oh, yes. He left this world around four o'clock this morning, uh, pacific time."

"His wife said that is when he goes for his daily run." Ziva stated.

"Somebody must have known his routine. Did his wife say anything about someone who had something against him?"Tony asked.

She shook her head. "She said he was well liked. She could not imagine why anyone would want him dead."

"Where'd the bullet come from, Duck?" Gibbs asked.

"Well it seemed to have entered his head at about a 45 degree angle. That's about all I can tell you, I'm afraid. Perhaps Abigail can –"

Abby jumped in. "Well judging from the angle that Ducky found and the blood spatter, I am gonna say, with certainty, that the bullet came through the open window. And the killer was standing on a branch from that tree outside." She pointed to the tree.

"Why was the window open?" McGee asked.

"Mrs. Cooper said that the window is open in the mornings because she is always cold and will not turn on the air conditioner at night, so her husband opens a window before his run to cool the kitchen for when he returns." Ziva read from her notes.

"Are you just about done?" Owen said rather testily after a few seconds of silence.

"You have an appointment, Agent Johnson?" Gibbs asks.

"No." he replied

"Then it doesn't matter, does it?" Gibbs asked. Owen mumbled something under his breath then shook his head.

"_Are_ we all done here?" Gibbs asked a moment later. Everyone nodded their heads. They, including the body of Gunnery Sergeant Vince Cooper, headed towards the cars and made their way to the NCIS agency.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Owen showed Ducky, Tony and McGee to autopsy, where they stored the body, while James led Abby, Ziva and Gibbs to the lab.

"Oh My God!" Abby exclaimed as soon as she entered the room. She ran to a machine. "This is the MS7000! I've wanted one of these for, like, ever." She slowly reached out and touched it. "Well for the three months it's been out." She looked around the room. "Wow, they have some really nice equipment in here."

"So this lab will be acceptable?" James asks.

Abby laughed. "Definitely! I might even consider moving here just for this lab, although my machines will probably get jealous." She stated seriously.

Ziva exhaled an annoyed sigh.

"Ziva? You okay?"Abby asked, worried she said something wrong.

"I am being eaten alive by ants." She stated wiping yet another ant off of her.

"There's an emergency shower if you wish to wash them off. I can grab you a set of clothes you can change into." James stated.

"Thank you. Where is it?"

"Over here." He pointed to the shower and then left the room.

"Wait, Zee!" Abby yelled and ran over to her. She grabbed a nearby Petri dish and gathered a few of the ants currently crawling on Ziva. "I just want to make sure it's not a venomous species." She said worriedly.

"Thank you, Abby." She beamed at the other girl, who blushed and nodded, then headed to the nearby shower, closed the curtain and turned it on.

Abby headed over to the microscope. She set it to 40X magnification and placed the dish under it. She looked up at the monitor and an eyebrow went up. "Gibbs! Something's really hinky!" she motioned for him and he came over. "This is an _Acanthostichus arizonensis_."

"English, Abs."

"This species of ant is only found in Arizona."

"Only there? It's not anywhere else?"

"Well ants don't follow state lines so there is some that cross the western border of New Mexico."

"Why is it here?"

"Someone must have brought it here. I'm gonna go ask McGee if anyone has recently moved fro-"she said as she started walking out the room.

"Abs, stop." She freezes at Gibbs' command. "Tomorrow. It's getting late and we need to get to the hotel."

"Right." She said and then returned to the microscope as Ziva exited the shower in NCIS issue sweatpants and shirt, her wet clothes in hand.

"Is it venomous?" she asked, towel drying her hair as she walked over to Abby.

"No. But it's from Arizona."

"How can you tell?" She looks curiously at the other girl.

"It's the _Acanthostichus arizonensis_. See, to identify the kind of species we are looking at we go down the taxonomic ranks. We can skip down to family, Formicidae, 'cause we know it's an ant. Now we have to figure out which one of the twenty subfamilies it is. You see the spines on the pygidium?" Ziva gives her a look.

"Oh sorry… here." She points the the ant's rear end and then moved her hand as she continued to explain. "And see the short, thick antennae?" Ziva nods her head. Abby points to another area. "Also on other subfamilies there are normally structures right here. That's how we tell it's in the Cerpachyinae subfamily. Now from there we look at this and this to tell that it is the _Acanthostichus arizonensis_." She looked up at Ziva with a grin. Ziva looked back with a stunned yet impressed expression on her face.

"Abby!" Gibbs called to get her attention. She turned around and saw him sign with a knowing smirk: 'you just about done flirting? We need to get a move on.'

"Gibbs!" Abby admonished with a surprised tone, quickly getting in step beside the man. Ziva soon followed suit watching them continue to sign.

'I was so not flirting.'

'Abby, I've been married four times; I know flirting when I see it.'

'Well you saw wrong.' They entered the elevator.

After a moment Gibbs turned to Abby. "Just so you know, Abs, I'm happy for you two, even if it goes against rule twelve." He left the elevator leaving behind two thoroughly confused girls. Rule #12:Never date a coworker.

"Happy about what? What is rule twelve?" Ziva asked.

"Nothing it's just a misunderstanding." She said, her voice low, while she left the elevator swiftly, head down. She didn't understand what Gibbs was saying. Did Ziva and her look like a couple? They surely didn't act like it. But it was Gibbs, he reads people like a book, he's never wrong. What did this mean? Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard McGee begin to talk.

"I don't know, I didn't ask. Why?" he turned to Abby.

Gibbs sensed that she wasn't paying attention and answered for her. "The ants that were on Ziva are only found in Arizona."

He took in a sharp breath with a pained look on his face."Ooh, it wasn't the_S____. __amblychila_, was it?" Worry quickly invaded his features.

"No, actually it was _A__. __arizonensis_." Abby replied, back in the game.

"Really?" he said in an astonished tone. "What was that doing here?"

"Not sure. I think one of the neighbors may have brought it here when they moved."

"I'll ask around tomorrow."

"And in order to be at our best tomorrow we should get going to the hotel, I am rather tired." Ducky said and everyone nodded while they walked towards the door.

"Perhaps we should drop Agent David off at the hospital on our way." Owen said.

"Why? I am fine." Ziva said matter-of-factly.

"Just to be on the safe side. There are some pretty nasty bugs up here."

"Are you suggesting I don't know how to do my job?" Abby turned around and confronted him heatedly.

"No, I'm saying that you most likely made a mistake. We can't rely on _your_ prognosis alone Miss Sciuto."

Gibbs walked over, grabbed Owen's arm and led him out of hearing range. "Do you have a problem with my scientist, Agent Johnson?"

"Yeah, she's a girl!" He said while he tried to tear his arm from Gibbs' death grip.

"So, what you're saying is that even without knowing her you automatically assume that she cannot do a job as well as a man."

"Yes! Exactly!" He said, thinking Gibbs understood his line of thinking.

He obviously didn't. He slammed Owen hard against the wall. "You should be thankful that I'm the one who got to you first. You say something like this again and I'm letting Ziva take care of you."

"Pff, she's just a girl."

"Yeah, just a girl," He says with a knowing smirk. But then lowers his voice. "I suggest you keep your mouth shut or Ziva will not hesitate to kill you, and I will not stop her. Do you understand?" He said in an even tone. A moment went by with no reply. "I said do you understand?" Gibbs repeated, now shouting.

Owen nodded his head and shrunk down, noticeably scared.

Abby let out a quiet 'go Gibbs!' before they headed to the cars.

XXXXX

"I am famished." Ziva said as they entered their hotel room. "I do not always remember to eat while working a case."

"That's not good, Zee." Abby playfully scolded and then opened one of her bags. "I brought some snack foods, though, 'cause I know how Gibbs can get when he's working. Go ahead, there's plenty."

"Hmm… perhaps after I shower. Do you mind if I…?" She pointed to the bathroom.

"No, go ahead! I should go bring Timmy and Tony some food, though."

"Then maybe I should take my pick now, knowing how Tony can be." She smiled, plucked a protein bar from the fully stocked bag, tossed it on the table and thanked the other girl before heading to the bathroom.

Abby picked up the bag, grabbed her key, and went a few doors over.

She knocked and the door opened to show McGee.

"Hey, Abby. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I just brought some food for you guys, since we didn't get any dinner."

"Did I hear food?" Tony said from inside the room as McGee invited Abby in.

Abby put the bag on the bed and opened it. "Help yourself."

Tony pushed McGee out of the way and dove right in. He grabbed a few bags of chips, a package of cookies, and a juice box and sat on the floor. He started to rip open the bags and immediately devoured the contents. He looked up mid-munch and saw the others looking at him so he let out a noisy, "What? I'm starving!"

Abby and McGee shook their heads, sat down on the bed, and started into a conversation about the case.

"Well I hate to miss this little chat," Tony said sarcastically a few minutes later, "but I need a shower," he smelled his armpit, winced and said, "badly." He went into the bathroom and a few moments later water could be heard running.

"So, Abby, I've been meaning to ask you something." McGee said timidly.

"Aww, Timmy, no need to get nervous around me. What is it?"

"Well, uh… I was wondering, or actually Tony brought it up, is that… um… are you and Ziva… like together?" He closed his eyes and tensed, bracing himself for impact. He opened his eyes a moment later when no slap came to see Abby looking at the ground, with a confused look on her face. He was about to tell her to forget he even said anything when she spoke.

"I don't know, Tim. I… I mean we aren't together but… I don't know how I feel about her. Gibbs brought up the same thing earlier. He thought I was flirting with her, but I don't think I was. To tell you the truth, Timmy, I'm scared. Gibbs' gut is never wrong and I don't…. I just don't know." She looked up at him, distressed.

McGee panicked as he tried to find the right thing to say, "Uhh… I'm sure you'll figure it out, Abs. Gibbs' gut isn't right all the time. I mean he's been divorced three times."

Abby smiled, scooted closer to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Thanks, Tim, you always know what to say." She pulled back after a few moments of comfort and gave McGee a sympathetic look. "So you have to share a bed with Tony?"

"Well, im pretty sure he's gonna make me sleep on the floor." He looked at the stained carpet and shuddered.

"C'mon, you gotta stop letting him push you around."

"But he's senior field agent." He said in a mocking tone. "And he never passes up an opportunity to remind me."

"Well just tell him you talked to me about me and Ziva and that you wont tell him if he doenst let you sleep on the bed. Not that im giving you permission to tell him what we just talked about, you know."

"Of course, Abby. I would never do that."

They continued to talk about general things until there was a comfortable silence. "Well, I kinda wanna get outta here before Tony wants to ask me about it. Bye,Tim and thanks again." She kissed his cheek and left the room.

She went to her room and saw Ziva bite into the protein bar as she was going through her notes on the case. "Hey, Im just gonna shower really quick, if that's okay." She said as she grabbed her pajamas.

Ziva looked up from her reading and smiled at the other girl. "Go ahead."

Abby stepped into the bathroom and closed the door. She turned on the water and stripped. After she waited for the water to heat up she stepped in and went through her normal bathing routine.

Meanwhile Tony stepped out of the bathroom. "Probie! Abby gone?"

McGee looked up. "Yeah."

"Any new insights on the case?" Tony sat down on the bed next to McGee.

"The case? No."

Tony narrowed his eyes. "What's that supposed to mean, McGeek?"

"Nothing."

Tony sat and thought for a few moments. He smiled."Don't tell me. She talked to you about Ziva?"

"I uh… uh…"

His grin widened. "She did! Aww, you got to tell me what she said."

"I can't do that Tony."

"Well then you're not sleeping on this bed."

"Well, then… uh… you're never going to find out."

"Unless I ask her myself."

McGee laughed. "Yeah, good luck with that."

"Darn it, probie!" He fell backwards. "Fine! You can sleep on the bed. Just stay on your side!" He pulled up the blanket. "I'm going to sleep." He turned to face the wall and closed his eyes.

McGee smiled and got up. He turned off the light and went to shower.

A few minutes later and a few doors over Abby turned off the water. She dried off and hung up her towel. She put on her nightclothes and walked into the still lit room. She glanced at the bed and froze. Lying on the bed was Ziva, fast asleep and snoring.

Abby's breath hitched in her throat and her stomach felt like one big butterfly mosh pit. She didn't quite understand what she was feeling. She was incredibly confused. She felt this before to a lesser extent but in a different situation. She became scared and violently shook her head. She took in a deep breath and sighed. She figured that today has been a very long day and that she should just go to sleep. She nodded to herself and turned off the light. She went over to the other side of the bed and hesitantly slid in. After a few minutes of doing all but forcefully knocking herself out to go to sleep she drifted off.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Heavy and loud knocks at the door violently startled Abby awake. She slowly became aware of her surroundings. She nearly screamed when she felt a body stirring in her arms and realized it was Ziva. Said girl turned around and looked at Abby quizzically before getting up.

"Abby! Ziva! C'mon! What's taking you so–" The door opened as Tony was screaming to reveal a very disgruntled Ziva.

"What is it, Tony?"

"Uh… you were supposed to meet us downstairs five minutes ago, Zee-Vah." He stated seriously then pointed at his watch. "It's six-fifteen."

Ziva's eyes showed alarm. "We overslept?!" She went back into the room not bothering to close the door. "Abby!" She poked at the lump in the bed. "Up! It is six-fifteen."

"Sixteen." Tony informed from the doorway.

Abby bolted up from the comfort of the bed.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you still have time to shower. Bathe together, it saves time!" Tony lewdly called from the doorway.

Ziva walked over to the door and closed it as she spoke. "Excellent idea, Tony, thank you." She turned around to face a babbling Abby.

"I am soo sorry Ziva. I totally forgot to set the alarm last night. God I am so absentminded sometimes. I dont even know what I was thinking. And sorry about how we woke up. ive always been a cuddler. I should've slept on the floor. I just knew it. I made you uncomfortable didn't I … I always do tha-" She is cut off by Ziva's finger being pressed to her lips.

"It is fine, Abby." She looked into the scientist's eyes and removed her finger. She then stripped off her shirt and made her way over to her bag.

Abby was stunned. First by Ziva's sudden act but then by what she was looking at. She shook her head and shut her eyes before Ziva could catch what she was doing and tried to find her bag blind.

Ziva, now dressed with toothbrush in hand, stood over Abby's confusing actions. "Abby?" Said girl looked up and let out a nervous laugh before she resumed her search for her bag. Ziva went into the bathroom and started to brush her teeth.

XXXXX

They finally made their way downstairs to face the wrath of the Gibbs look. Abby apologized profusely and put full responsibility on herself.

As they were walking outside Tony turned to Ziva. "Uh… you were kidding before, right? About showering together."

"Of course not Tony, it was a huge time saver." She smiled and tried not to laugh at his stunned face. She was thankful she did not have mind reading powers right about now.

They met up with Owen and James. Abby once again apologized for their lateness.

Abby, Ducky and Gibbs went with James in the car while the others went with Owen in the van.

"Uh… guys? There's only room for one of us in this van." Tony pointed out.

"No, there's the back."

Tony smiled. "Good idea probie, have fun with Ziva!" He headed for the passenger seat.

"Ah!" Ziva voiced, grabbing Tony's arm.

"Fine. I guess we'll just have to settle this the old fashioned way." Tony said.

"Rock paper scissors?" McGee guessed.

"Rock paper scissors." Tony repeated.

XXXXX

"I still can't believe McGeek won. I'm champ at that game!" Tony grumbled for the hundredth time from one of the seats in the back.

"Tony, is Abby dating anyone?" Ziva asked.

"Why? You interested?" Tony said.

"What?"

"Nothing. Why do you ask?"

"Gibbs said that he was happy for Abby, even if it went against rule twelve."

Tony became surprised and gained an excited grin. "Really? Abby? You don't think… McProbie?"

"I do not know. I asked her and she said it was a misunderstanding."

"What were they talking about before that?"

"They were signing."

"Anybody else there?"

"James."

"Well then, I would think that Gibbs thought Abby was in a relationship with either you or James."

"We all just met James yesterday, correct?"

"Exactly." Tony said before they parked and Ziva was able to say anything else.

XXXXX

In the lab, 'Show me what I'm looking for' by Carolina Liar was blaring from the ihome minispeakers placed near Abby's workstation while tests were being done. She was staring blankly at the screen in front of her, which was currently looking for a match for the partial fingerprint on the glass.

Abby sighed then took the last sip of her Caf-Pow. The other lab occupants were looking over at her with distain but were too scared to say anything.

"Music, Abs?" Gibbs asked placing a fresh Caf-Pow on the table. "Not the usual."

"Gibbs!" She yelped, startled by him. She grabbed the Caf-Pow and took a large sip. "Thanks I needed that." She turned to the computer and continued her staring contest with the monitor.

"Abby."

"It takes time, Gibbs." She said, determined not to face the man.

Gibbs put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. She looked up at him, confused. "You okay, Abs?"

She turned away from him, determination set on her features. "Of course."

"You're not a very good liar." He continued to look at her, his gaze laced with concern.

Her resolve weakened, tears started to prickle her eyes until the machine dinged with a match.

Gibbs' head swiveled to look at the computer and the profile of the match. Knowing he had to get back to work he took out his phone and pressed a button. "Dinozzo, I need you to visit a Mr. David Brooks. He works at a bar on 5th street called –" He walked out of the room continuing talking into the electronic device.

XXXXX

"Agents Dinozzo and David" Tony stated showing his badge to the man behind the bar. "You David Brooks?"

"Yes, sir. What's this all about." He asked while cleaning a glass.

"Your fingerprint was found at a crime scene. So, you tell me. Why?"

"I don't know."

"Not good enough. Ziva, handcuff the man."

After she gave Tony a dirty look for giving her an order she went behind the bar and started to handcuff him. He pulled away.

"Hey, I swear I didn't do anything." Ziva used more force this time and succeeded in her next attempt.

"That's what they all say." Tony said as he led the way to the car.

XXXXX

"So, you're telling me that your fingerprint just magically appeared on this piece of glass at the crime scene?" Gibbs said across the table from the suspect in the interrogation room.

"Must have." He replied.

"Then tell me where you were at four o'clock yesterday morning."

"At home. My apartment building has a security camera that can prove it."

"Great. I'm sure you wouldn't mind if one of my agents went to go get the tape."

"Go ahead."

"Tony." He simply stated looking at the glass. Then waited for a moment before speaking again. "Ziva, go see if Abby has anything."

"So am I just supposed to wait here?"

"Looks like it." A few moments passed.

"You know, I might have an idea about how that fingerprint was there."

Gibbs just nodded a 'go ahead'. "The night before your guy was killed, there was a pretty nasty bar fight."

"Would have been helpful before. Did you see anyone suspicious."

"Look, bars are full of scumbags but I don't think I saw anyone looking to kill."He stated.

XXXXX

Ziva walked into the room and saw the other scientists in a corner, unsure and scared. She heard a gunshot and went on alert. She withdrew her weapon and ran into the adjacent room, fearing for Abby's safety.

"Hold it!" She yelled pointing her weapon at the first person she saw. She scanned the room looking for Abby.

"Don't shoot, Ziva. It's me." Ziva looked to the source of the voice and put her gun back in its holster.

"Abby? What are you doing?"

Abby tilted her head and smiled. "Ballistics of course. I'm trying to see which gun shot out the bullet Ducky found."

"Oh, of course."

"What did you think I was doing?"

"Well Gibbs sent me down here and I saw people looking scared in the far corner in the other room. Then I heard the gunshot."

"Oh, darn! I'm so used to working alone I forgot that I need to tell them when I'm working with firearms." She then lowered her voice which put an amused smile on Ziva's face. "'What's the first rule in doing ballistics miss Sciuto?' 'Always wear eye protection, Mr. Davis?' 'That's two, the first rule is to always inform the people around you before you start'" She let out an exasperated sigh. "Duh… that was freshman stuff." She popped her head out of the room."Sorry guys. I'm doing ballistics, forgot to tell you."She said sheepishly then turned to Ziva.

"Did you determine the weapon used?" Ziva said as she tried to keep from chuckling.

"Not yet, I just need to try one more gun." She went to the table holding various rifle weapons and picked up the one at the far end. She put her ear protection back on and signaled for Ziva to put on the spare eye and ear protection. She pointed the barrel in the necessary place and shot off a couple rounds reeling back from the force.

Abby placed the gun down and was about to check the rounds when Ziva tapped her on the shoulder. They slid their headset to the side to hear each other better.

"I have a suggestion. You are holding it incorrectly, which made you recoil as much as you did." She went behind the scientist who picked the gun back up. "Widen your stance." Abby followed suit. "Too far. Here." Ziva pushed Abby's legs a bit closer together. She leaned in, pressing her front to Abby's back. "Hold it like this." She put Abby's hands in the correct position then slid the protective ear piece back on Abby's ear, doing the same to hers. She covered Abby's hands with her own and guided her finger to pull the trigger.

The gun fired and they recoiled slightly. They stayed in that position for a few seconds, savoring the moment. Neither one wanted to move, lest they should disturb the feelings flowing through them. But they weren't so lucky when Ziva's phone interrupted their silent bliss.

It took her a moment to realize her phone was ringing before she answered it. "Hello?... Uh, no she is not done yet… I do not kn-"Abby ripped the phone from her grasp.

"Hey Gibbs!... Yep, just a sec." She inspected the fired bullets. "Well, it looks like the bullet was definitely fired from an M40A1 sniper rifle… Really?...No, that's it… Okay… Bravo Yankee Echo!" She snapped the phone shut then turned to Ziva and handed it to her. "He wants you up there." Ziva nodded and turned to leave. Abby hesitated but then shouted, "Wait!"

"What is it?"

"I was jus- uh… It's nothing." Abby's face became red and she turned to a machine and tried to look busy.

"Abby." Ziva went to stand next to her, facing her. "You are sure?" Her voice laced with concern.

"Uh… No. But Gibbs is waiting for you."

"I do not care. He can wait. Tell me."

"Ca- can we talk later, in our room?"

"Of course." Ziva said before covering Abby's hand with her own for a moment. She smiled assuredly and then left.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

McGee and James entered the temporary work station as Ziva stepped out of the elevator.

"Boss, the Bradshaw's just moved here from Arizona. They are the neighbors to the left. Their son had an ant farm that he brought with him on the move."

"How'd they get on the tree?"

"He felt sorry for them and let them go free."

"Figures."He shakes his head as Ziva walked up to them. "Ziva, you and McGee go find out who took the Gunny's sniper class."

They walked down to the car in silence. James sat in the driver's seat while McGee took the passenger side and Ziva sat in the back.

They drove for a few minutes until James spoke up, trying to create a conversation. "So, how do you guys like Washington so far?"

"It's nice." McGee said, and then they rode in silence the rest of the way there.

James stayed with the car while McGee and Ziva walked inside.

"Ziva, I don't mean to pry but, you seem… sad. Is something wrong?"

"I am fine, McGee, thank you." She said.

They got to the correct desk and showed their badges. McGee spoke. "NCIS. We need names of Gunnery Seargent Vince Cooper's sniper students from since he started teaching." The man behind the desk nodded and said it would be a few minutes.

They sat down but after a few seconds Ziva spoke."Is Abby upset with me?"

"Upset? No, not at all."

"How can you be so sure?"

"She kinda talked to me last night, about you and-"

"About me? What did she say."

"I can't say what she said. I promised I wouldn't."

"Of course, I am sorry."

"Its okay. But I can assure you she is not upset with you."

They sat in silence until the names were printed. They drove back and walked back into the office.

"We got the names, boss." McGee said.

"Good. You three get started." Gibbs said and left the area.

McGee gave a third of the list to Tony and a third to Ziva and they sat down.

They began typing the names into the computer to get their records, which they looked through for anything suspicious and called to make sure they had an alibi.

An hour into the task Tony spotted a possible suspect but circled the name for later.

Another hour past and the team found no other suspicious people hiding in the lists of names around them.

"I did find this about an hour ago." he pointed to the circled name. "Trent Reynolds failed the sniper course recently and had past issues with violence. I didn't call because he might have ran so we should probably pay him a visit."

"Good work, Dinozzo." Gibbs said from behind them. "Ziva, Tony, with me. McGee-" He glances over at Owen. "Stay with Abby."

McGee nods his head and goes down to the lab.

"Timmy? I don't have anything else to give Gibbs."

"He just wanted me to stay here with you while he, Tony, and Ziva got the suspect. I think he is worried about Owen staying in the same building as you without him here."

"Aww, that's sweet of him."

"Yeah… Anyway, about Ziva. Have you talked to her yet because she seems upset about something."

"No, I asked if I could talk to her tonight though."

"Great! What are you gonna say?"

She sighs. "I don't know. I've been wracking my brain for the last hour."

"I can help. Pretend I'm Ziva." Abby laughed. "No, I'm serious. I'm Ziva. We're in your hotel room. Go."

"Okay…" She takes a deep breath. "Ziva, I need to tell you something."

"What is it Abby?" McGee says in a high pitched voice.

"McGee, stop with the voice."

He gives a sheepish look."Sorry. … What is it Abby?"

"I … I just don't know how to word it."

"Say what's in your heart."

"This isn't working!" She sighed, then fell into the chair at the nearby workstation. "You're not her."

"I could get a female intern to play the part."

"Good try, Tim, but no."

"How about I print out a Ziva mask and wear it."

Abby laughs. "That's just–"She starts but then thought and then spoke seriously. "That might just work."

XXXXX

"Tony, get McGee." Gibbs said as he and Ziva, with the suspect, went into interrogation.

"On it boss."

Tony entered the lab then stopped dead in his tracks. "Probie! Gibbs nee – do I even _want_ to know what you're doing?"

McGee ripped off his mask, wincing in pain as the rubber band used to hold it in place pulled his hair. "Tony! Uh… I was just…"

"Don't need to know about your personal life, Probie-wan. Just- upstairs, now."

McGee threw the mask on a table and followed behind Tony, still trying to explain.

XXXXX

"So I flunked a sniper course, doesn't mean I wanna kill the guy." Trent Reynolds sat back in his chair across from Gibbs and scratched at his arm.

"You also have a history of violence."

"And? Don't tell me you never hit a guy, Agent Gibbs." He reached down and scratched at his leg and shifted around in his seat.

Ziva, from behind the glass, notices his fidgeting and goes into the room.

"Ziva?" Gibbs asks.

She held up the bag and pointed at Trent and Gibbs nodded. She went over to the suspect.

"Whoa, what do you think you're doing?"

"Collecting evidence." she scooped a couple of ants into the bag and headed down to the lab.

XXXXX

"Ziva, can we talk?" Abby said seriously then shook her head. "No that wont work. Umm…" She sighed and started to pace. "Ziva… Ziva…"

"Yes, Abby?"

"Ziva! I was just umm… "

She cut her off and held out the bag. "Can you see if this is that Arizona ant?"

"Uh… sure." She took the bag and placed a specimen onto a Petri dish before sliding it under the microscope. "Yep it sure is. Where'd you find it?"

"On the suspect we just brought in. I'll go tell Gibbs." Ziva said then walked out of the lab.

Ziva walked into the interrogation watching room a few minutes later. "There were ants on him and it turns out they are from Arizona… the same ones that were found in Mr. Cooper's back yard."

"Cool… are you going to tell Gibbs?" McGee asked.

"In a while, McGee." Ziva said while turning to see Gibbs yelling at a shaking Trent. "I think he might get a confession first."

They looked in the room and saw Gibbs stand up and walked out of the room. Seconds later he joined the three Agents. "They the same ones, Ziva?"

"Yes."

"Good." He walked back into the interrogation room and sat down.

"What?" Trent asked. He waited a few moments. "You found something else out, huh?"

"Anything you want to tell me?" Gibbs asked, leaning back into his chair.

"No, I don't have anything to say to you." Trent said, still cocky, but with a hint of fear in his eyes.

"Really? Been to Arizona anytime lately?" Gibbs asked.

"No, what kind of a question is that?"

Gibbs stood up. "Then I guess that puts you at Sergeant Cooper's house." He said standing over him.

Trent was intimidated but he didn't let up. "How do you figure that?"

"The ants. Only place found is in Arizona and the Gunny's backyard."

Trent's face paled. "O-oh, di- did you say Arizona? I just got back from there." He said shaky and nervously.

"Nice try." He grabbed Trent's arm.

Trent tore away from Gibb's grip. "No! You can't take me to jail! You don't know the truth!" He backed away into a corner.

"You want to enlighten me?"

"He flunked me, okay? Me!" He then laughed. "I sure showed him though, huh? He had no idea I was there. Say I'm no good in stealth? I'd say the student has surpassed the master in this case, wouldn't you?"

"I'd say you just gave me enough for a life sentence." He grabbed Trent and led him out of the room.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"That case went rather well, don't you agree, my dear?" Ducky said to Ziva.

Ziva smiled at him, and then nodded, before taking a bite of her steak.

"Yes, Director Vance wasn't kidding when he said that you guys were the best." James said

"Aww, he said that? That's so sweet!" Abby said. Ziva smiled at her and caught Abby's eye. They both blushed and turned back to their food.

"Yeah, you guys did so well you still have two more night in your hotel, its nonrefundable. If you want, I could show you guys around." He looks over hopefully toward Ziva who seemed more interested in her meal than in him.

"I think we can show ourselves around." Gibbs said.

"We can stay, boss?"

"Did you not hear 'nonrefundable', DiNozzo?"

"Right."

"I'd like to take you up on your offer, my boy." Ducky said to James. James half-smiled at him and nodded, still hoping to show Ziva around town.

"Can I get you anything else?" The waiter asked as he picked up what was done with.

Six no's came from the table. Abby said, "do you guys have ice cream?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Cool. Can I get a scoop of chocolate?"

"Of course, I'll be right back."

"Thanks." She noticed everyone looking at her. "What? I'll share."

They all shook their head at her.

"So what's there to do around here?" McGee asked James.

James started to discuss the most popular tourist attractions and some of his favorite things to do until Abby's ice cream came. She immediately dug into it.

"Abby, you have some – "Ziva wipes at her own mouth to indicate.

Abby paws at the side of her lip that doesn't have it. "I get it, Zee?"

Ziva, her body obviously currently not under control by her brain, leant over and used her finger to get the substance off of the other girl's mouth and then stuck the finger in her mouth. "Mmm, this is rather tasty."

Abby was shocked she was even unable to even let out a stutter. Tony and McGee just looked on, their jaws hanging open. Gibbs just smiled as something he had seen for a while was finally starting to happen. The rest of the table stayed silent, not daring to comment lest Ziva overhear and not like what she heard.

XXXXX

Abby and Ziva entered the hotel room.

"Abby, did I do something to upset you?"

"What? No! Absolutely not."

"Then what is it?"

"Well I don't really know how to start." She said and plopped down on the bed.

"Start from the beginning." Ziva offered as she sat down next to Abby.

"The beginning! Duh! Why didn't I think of that before… McGee's so smart, Mr. MIT never told me to start from the beginning! I should remember to sla –"

"Abby?"

"Oh, right. Well…" She took a deep breath. "Remember when you came back from Somalia?"

"How could I forget?"

"Well… when I heard you were okay and coming back I couldn't believe it… I didn't, actually. But when I saw you get off the elevator… I… I felt something. At first I thought it was relief and happiness that you were actually okay but when I hugged you I remember thinking that…" She hesitates, unsure of whether to continue or not.

"Abby, whatever it is, you can say it." Ziva put a reassuring hand on Abby's shoulder.

Abby nodded. "I remember thinking that… the love of my life…is finally back where she belongs, in my arms."

"Abby…" Ziva breathes out, astonished.

"And I know what you're gonna say, okay," She bolts up from the bed, tears filling her eyes and her voice cracking, "so please don't… please don't say it." She starts for the door.

Ziva, still unbelieving and smiling she looks up at Abby, seeing her tearful and heading for the door. She frowns and bolts up after her. "Abby! Wait, I-" The door slams, causing her to stop her pursuit momentarily.

Meanwhile Abby bangs on a door. "McGee! Let me in! McG-" The door opens to reaveal a very confused McGee.

"Abby? Whats wrong?"

She collapsed onto him. "I told her, Timmy. I told her and-"

"Shhh… its okay, come on." he led her to sit on the bed, his shirt being soaked with tears. Tony looked up from his laptop.

"Whoa, Abby. What happened?"

"Remember that thing you thought was going on between Abby and Ziva?"

"Yeah."

"Well Abby just told Ziva how she feels and…" He motioned to the sobbing scientist.

Tony had a stunned look on his face. "Whoa, bummer." Heavy knocks resounded from the door. "I got it." He walks over to the door and opens it, surprised at who he sees.

"Ziva?!" he pushes her out into the hallway. "What did you do to Abby?"

"Nothing!" She takes a step forward. "Move. I need to see her."

"Well she doesn't need to see you right now." He blocks her way. "I've never seen her like this before. What did you say?"

"Tony, I swear I did not say anything. She put words into my mouth. I do not even know what those words are."

"So… you didn't actually reject her."

"Why would I reject her? I love her." she said firmly.

Tony, stunned and surprised, stepped back against the door and laughed nervously. "Wow… um… you might want to tell _her_ that."

"Well then, Tony." She said starting to lose patience. "Move, so that I can… before I shove my keycard up your –"

He puts his hands up. "Okay, easy." he took his key card out of his pocket and brought it up to the door before he paused. "But I should warn you, she's pretty torn up in there." He unlocked the door, and then pushed it open for Ziva.

Ziva reeled back from the sight before her. Abby looking up at her, eyes full of hurt and despair. Mascara track marks lined her face… and McGee's shirt.

"Abby, we need to talk."

Tony, still behind her, winced at the worst thing she could have possibly said, having heard it many times before.

McGee became very protective. "What more could you possibly say, Ziva? I don't think you can break her heart anymore than you already ha-"

"I love you!" She yelled, interrupting McGee, who is now frozen in shock. Abby looked up, her tear streaked face now expressing shock and confusion. Tony, still behind Ziva, has a smirk on his face but was still noticeably shocked.

"Wh- what?" Abby let out after a few moments. "Z-Ziva… you really don't have to say that, I know that you don't reall-mmph!"

Ziva let out an annoyed sigh while Abby was talking and walked up to her, shoved McGee to the side, grabbed her by the sides of her face and crashed their lips together. It took Abby a moment to realize what was happening but eventually she started to move her lips against Ziva's. Years of hidden feelings were unleashed in this moment and both girls could feel an intense electric-like current running through them.

Tony and McGee stared at the scene before them, unable to tear their eyes away. While definitely happy for the two of them they both knew this was a fantasy of theirs that they probably won't see again.

Abby and Ziva broke apart and stared into each other's eyes, oblivious to their audience. Wide grins broke out on each of their faces. Abby lunged forward and wrapped her arms around Ziva's neck. Her voice was cracking as she let out an 'I love you too' into the other girl's ear.

McGee, grabbed Tony's arm and whispered, "I think we should give them some privacy." He started to pull him outside.

"Not a chance, McDweeb." He yanked his arm back and continued to watch.

Ziva pulled away from Abby's hug. "I am not surprised, Tony." She glared at him.

"On second thought…" He started to move back, afraid, knowing what Ziva is capable of.

Ziva just gave Abby a look and Abby nodded.

"Actually, Tony, Abby and I should get back to our room." She stood up and led Abby to the door.

"Yeah," Abby followed, "Zee and I have a long night ahead of us."

They left the room and entered theirs laughing.

"Did you see the look on Tony's face?" Abby asked flopping down on the bed.

"Yes, and I would not be surprised if he spends the whole night with his ear against the wall." She let out another laugh before falling next to Abby. She propped herself on her elbow and just looked at the girl beside her. Abby rolled over and looked up.

"What are you looking at?" Abby asked, feeling embarrassed that all of Ziva's attention was suddenly on her.

"The most beautiful girl in the world." She said sincerely.

Abby blushed and shook her head. "That's not possible."

"Oh? And why's that?"

"I'd have to be holding a mirror." She smiled up at her. Ziva smiled back. They continued to look into each other's eyes until Abby spoke."Hey, Ziva?"

"Yes, Abby?"

"Can I kiss you?"

Ziva laughed. "You do not have to ask, Abby."

Abby smiled, then lent up and captured Ziva's lips in a kiss that rivaled their last one. After a few moments they pulled back, breathless.

"So… What do you wish to do tomorrow?" Ziva asked Abby.

"Hmm… I don't know… I saw a guide book around here somewhere want to look through it together?"

Ziva just nodded her head and got up to look for the book. A few minutes later and Abby found it tucked behind the dresser.

They lied in bed together and looked through the book, pointing at things they would like to try to fit into their schedule for the next two days and things that they would like to come back one day on vacation and do together.

The two girls fell asleep quickly. Abby hugged Ziva in her sleep and Ziva automatically reacted by moving closer into the hug. The guide book lay forgotten next to Ziva as they both caught some well deserved Z's


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Ziva was the first to wake up. She took a quick note of her surroundings, as she always does, and noticed being in Abby's warm embrace. The previous nights events came back to her and a smile appeared on her face but then was replaced by a frown as she realized she needed to get out of the bed. After a few minutes of slowly trying to get out of Abby's grip and replacing herself with a pillow, Ziva went into the bathroom. During her shower Ziva got an idea and quickly got done and headed out of the room.

Abby woke up a few minutes after Ziva's departure and looked around for her. She frowned when she realized she left.

After a few minutes of sitting around waiting for Ziva to return, Abby got up and jumped in the shower. She couldn't help but think about all that had happened in the last day and smile. If someone had told her before she took this trip that she and Ziva would be… what are they? Girlfriends? She would have to talk to Ziva about that later.

She got done and sat on the bed. She flipped through the channels for a few minutes to find nothing on but a crime show marathon. This show had a marathon every other day, Abby thought, but at least it's a good show. She just wished they didn't have to kill off one of the characters in order to bring another one in. They could have just made her switch jobs or something...

Abby's line of thought was interrupted when the door opened and Ziva walked in and handed her a cup before setting a paper bag down on the bed.

"I was not sure what you wanted so I got a few different things." Ziva said then sipped on her coffee.

"You do know we get free breakfast downstairs, right?" Abby asked.

"We do? Oh…"

"Its okay… I doubt they have any Caf-Pow down there." She emphasized her point with a sip of her drink before peeking in the bag to see a few baked breakfast goods. She thought for a second then grabbed a muffin. Ziva took one as well before setting the bag on a table near the bed.

"What we-"

"What do-"

They both spoke at once. Abby motioned for Ziva to go first.

"What were we going to do today?" She asked.

"I really wanted to see that one waterfall… um… Wallace Falls…"

"Okay, we can do that… why don't we head on over to Seattle and look around for a while before we go there."

"Good idea, Zee."

"What were you going to say?"

"Uh… I was just wondering… uh… what we are."

Ziva scrunched her eyebrows together. "I do not think I understand the question."

"I mean… can I call you my girlfriend?"

"Oh!" You could see the light bulb finally come on. "Of course, Abby, what else would we call each other?"

"I don't know. I mean you could have just wanted to say how you felt and then keep wanting to be friends or something."

One of Ziva's eyebrows went up. "That would be… strange. With the way I feel about you, Abby, I do not think we could just be friends." She got up and threw her empty cup away. "Unless… that is what you want."

"What? No, Ziva, I just meant…" She stopped and sighed. "I want to be your girlfriend, and I want you to be mine. I asked because I just wanted to make sure, that's all."

Ziva leaned over the bed and brushed a strand of hair behind Abby's ear before planting a gentle kiss on Abby's lips. "I understand." She said after she pulled away. "So… shall we go?"

"Yep!" Abby hopped off the bed, tossed her cup in the trash and grabbed her bag before she joined Ziva out in the hallway.

In the elevator they stood side by side watching the numbers go down. Abby glanced down at Ziva's hand and hesitated before she slid her hand down to grasp Ziva's.

Ziva looked down at their intertwined hands and squeezed Abby's hand. The door opened and they saw Gibbs waiting for the elevator. Their hands separated quickly.

"Don't censor yourself on my account." Gibbs said. "It's a day off, enjoy it. You two certainly deserve it." He smiled at them.

He went in after they got out and they quickly resumed their hand holding.

"That reminds me… what were you two signing the other day?" Ziva asked.

"Oh that? He thought I was flirting with you."

"Were you not?"

"I…I wasn't trying to but…"

"Hey, Abby. Ziva." Tony said walking up to them in the middle of the hotel lobby. "What are you two lovebirds up to today?"

"Sightseeing. And no you may not come along and 'watch'." Ziva said.

"Aww, Ziva, is that really the kind of guy you think I am?" He put his hand over his heart.

Abby tried to stifle a laugh with a cough.

"Don't answer that." He pointed at Ziva. "I hope you two have fun 'sight-seeing,'" He used finger quotes, "I'm being dragged to a science fiction museum by McDorkus over there." He points to McGee sitting in a chair reading a newspaper.

"You know you do not have to go with him." Ziva said.

"Yeah… I do. Gibbs said it's a chance for us to bond." He said with a disgusted look on his face as he looked over at McGee again.

The two girls just laughed at him before walking outside. They heard him yell, "Thanks for the sympathy!" before the door closed.

"How are we going to get there, anyway?" Abby asked.

"I called for a rental car to be sent over earlier." She pointed over at a car waiting at the drop off point.

"Ooh! Can I drive?" Abby asked, jumping up and down. Ziva just dropped the keys in Abby's hand.

The drive from Tacoma to Seattle was relatively uneventful. They got there fairly quickly and spent a few hours window shopping before Ziva got an idea. She took over the driving and drove to a nearby grocery store. Abby stayed in the car while Ziva ran inside to gather a few things. She then drove them a few miles away.

"Madison Park Beach?" Abby asked reading the sign.

"Uh-huh, I read it was one of the best places to go for a picnic."

"Oh I get it! You're sneaky." Abby poked Ziva in the shoulder as the car pulled into a spot.

There were only a few other people in the grassy area but Abby still ran to claim a spot. Ziva just laughed at the other girl's antics as she carried the previously bought things over.

She put the bag down and rummaged through it before pulling out a blanket. She spread it on the grass and put the bag on the blanket before sitting down across from Abby. She took out two wrapped sandwiches, two bottles of water and a container of fruit.

Ziva popped a grape in her mouth before she spoke. "Would you like to finish what you were saying before Tony interrupted you? About the flirting?"

Abby nodded while she finished chewing a bite of her sandwich. "I was saying that I wasn't really meaning to flirt. I didn't really even realize my feelings for you then."

"But you had said you acknowledged it before, during my homecoming, correct?"

"Yeah. But that was just something that I thought and I didn't really know why. It confused me at the time so I just shoved it away." She took a big gulp of her water before grabbing a strawberry.

"Was that the first time you thought something like that about me?"

"Uh… Sorta. I mean yes, in that sense, but now that I look back I know that I had thought about you like that for a while. You have to try this," she said holding out a strawberry for Ziva, which she bit into and nodded her head in approval. Abby continued, "Even when you first joined the team and I didn't like you I still felt something but I didn't know what it was."

"Yes I know what you mean. The first hint for me was in the plane during that episode of turbulence." She laughed at remembering. "If McGee hadn't said anything I probably would have kissed you then." She ate the last bit of her sandwich before continuing. "And when I saw you hanging onto McGee I felt jealous, though I didn't figure it out until the flight was almost over."

"Aww Ziva." She leaned over and hugged the Israeli. "I know McGee and I had a past but whatever feelings I had for him don't hold a candle to what I feel for you." She pulled away eyes filled with happiness, adoration, and most of all, love. "But I did feel jealous whenever you were with Tony."

Abby's words caused Ziva to spit out the water she had just tried to drink. She coughed for a bit before she spoke. "Tony?" She asked incredulously. "You were jealous of Tony?"

Abby shrugged as she handed Ziva a tissue. "Yeah, I always thought you two had a thing for each other."

"Tony and I are just friends. Actually he is more like my best friend… besides you, of course." She added when she saw Abby's lip turn into a pout. "I have absolutely no romantic feelings towards him."

"Well I know that now." Abby smiled. They settled into a nice conversation.

XXXXX

"Seriously, Probie?" Tony asked. "I am _not_ sitting in some hour long nerd discussion." He said firmly. "Especially not after having to walk around here for hours."

"Oh, C'mon Tony, I've been wanting to hear him speak for years." He pleaded. "Tell you what. You can drag me to do anything you want." He inwardly winced, knowing that was a bad idea.

Tony's eyes lit up. "Anything?" He asked deviously.

McGee had a pained look on his face as he nodded and answered. "Yes, Tony, anything. I – I promise."

Tony rubbed his hands together. "Well then, lets get a move on, Elf Lord. Don't want all the good seats to be taken now do we?" He walked towards the room where the lecture would take place.

They sit down near the front. "Tony just please do me a favor and not say anything. Okay?" McGee said nervously.

"Don't worry, I won't embarrass you in front of your fellow nerdlingers."

"What's a ner – you know what? Never mind." He sat back comfortably in his seat and tried to not let his overwhelming excitement show too much.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

They had finished their lunch just a few minutes ago and were now lying down on the blanket perpendicular to each other, Abby's head resting on Ziva's stomach, just enjoying each other's company. Ziva was unconsciously running her fingers through Abby's hair.

Abby sighed contently and looked up at Ziva. "This is nice."

"Yes. It is very nice." She agreed.

"But… I want to go see a waterfall." She said not really wanting Ziva to stop.

Ziva sat up, forcing Abby to as well. "Oh, right, I almost forgot about that. We should get going now." She got up and extended her hand to Abby. Abby took it and was pulled up. They packed up their things and went back to the car.

"Hey, Ziva, you mind if I drive?"

"I do not mind at all."

Abby lets out a sigh of relief and Ziva looks over at her quizzically. "Sorry it's just that… I want to make it there in one piece."

"I am not that bad of a driver."

"Bad? No. Scary? Yes."

They started their journey with conversations of Tony and McGee's reactions to Ziva's driving.

XXXXX

Tony and McGee walked out of the Science Fiction Museum. Tony breathed in deep. "Ahhh, I love the smell of _fresh_ air."

"What's that supposed to mean?" McGee asked, slightly offended.

"Not you, McGee. Did you smell those people sitting behind us? Its like they didn't leave their mother's basement for days."

McGee just rolled his eyes and asked, "So what do you want to do now, Tony?"

"Oh, don't worry, Probie, I have an idea." They walked back to the rental car they got and Tony started driving. It was not too long of a drive until Tony found the place he had read about.

McGee was looking around for anything that might give him a clue as to where they were going. As soon as he saw someone with a giant rubber band tied to their legs jump off a bridge he knew he was in trouble. "Uh.. Tony? Bungee Jumping? I don't think this is such a good ide-"

"You said _anything_, Probie."

"I take it back."

"C'mon youll like it." He parked the car and turned to McGee. "Its fine. There's like a two in a million chance anything will go wrong."

"What if we're the two?"

Tony just shook his head and rolled his eyes before getting out of the car. McGee, however, stayed put. Tony walked to the other side of the car and went to open McGee's door. He was too fast, however, and locked the door. Tony just hit the unlock button on the keys and attempted to pry open the door with McGee fighting him with everything he had. After a few minutes of door tug-of-war, McGee lost the battle and was soon dragged out of the car by his arm and led over to the bridge. They walked over to the sign-up table.

"We'd like two please." Tony said. He suavely flashed a smile to the woman behind the table.

"Is he okay?" She asked and pointed to McGee, who had broken out into a cold sweat.

"Don't worry, he's fine. First timer." He explained as he put his hands on McGee's shoulders in an attempt to get him to stop shaking.

The woman just nodded and took their money before pointing them over to the area where they would wait for their turn. After a few minutes of waiting a man walked over to them. "Who's first?"

McGee immediately pointed at Tony. Tony just shook his head and pushed McGee forward. "He is," Tony said, "before he has a chance to escape."

"First timer, huh?" He peered down at McGee and laughed. "C'mon, let's get you set up." They walked over to the jump off point and got the bungee cord attached securely to McGee's leg and to the backup body harness. The whole time McGee was nervously stammering out a whole list of why he shouldn't be doing this, which included that he was allergic to water, had a fake leg, and even that he was pregnant.

They finally got him set up and had him standing on the bridge edge. McGee looked back at Tony with fear in his eyes. "Don't worry, Tim, you'll be fine." Tony said sincerely before pushing him off the edge.

McGee let out a scream that was not unlike that of a middle school girl on a roller coaster. The cord stretched far enough so that he was only just a few feet from the water rushing by before it snapped back and caused him to fly back up. He went up and down few more times before he was just hanging there, swinging back and forth. He was pulled back up and got the harnesses taken off.

"See? It wasn't that bad, was it?" Tony asked, getting ready for his jump. McGee just covered his mouth and ran to the nearest trash can.

XXXXX

Abby and Ziva made their way to the start of the trail that led up to the waterfalls. For the first few minutes the two girls just enjoyed the scenery in silence. It was like they were walking through a garden on a lightly graveled path with a stream slowly moving beside them.

They reached a fork in the road and turned right, the shorter way to get to the falls, and they noticed the trail got a little less garden-y and a lot more forest-y. They started up a conversation about their childhood for a while. Abby came up with animated retellings of her past in New Orleans while Ziva told a more depressing tale of her growing up in Israel. No matter whose story was being told they never let their focus shift too much from the here and now, their being surrounded by the beautiful lush forest that was around them.

After a bit of walking, the path begun to narrow and the ground was not as level and easy to walk on. At one point Abby stepped on a rock that was not very stable. Thankfully Ziva, always alert, caught her before she fell too far and helped her get back upright.

"Thanks, Ziva." She kissed the other girls cheek. "Can we stop for a second?"

Ziva nodded her head. "Of course."

Abby went over to a tree and leaned against it before going through her bag and pulling out a water bottle. She drank from it a few times before putting it back. She lifted her left foot off the ground and moved it back and forth.

"Are you okay?" Ziva asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little sprain. It should be fine in a few minutes." She put her foot back on the ground but with only a small fraction of the normal pressure put on it before she looked up at Ziva and grinned to show that she was okay.

Ziva softly smiled and made her way towards the other girl. She stops just a few inches from her and cupped her cheek before she leaned in to give her a light, but loving, kiss.

"Any particular reason for that?" Abby asked after they pulled away.

"I just could not help myself." Ziva said, smiling.

"Good reason." Abby whispered as she leaned in to capture Ziva's lips in a more slow and passionate kiss. They got lost in each other and spent the next several minutes making out until…

"EXCUSE ME!!" They heard a screechy voice yell that caused them to pull away from each other rather violently. "WHAT DO YOU TWO THINK YOU'RE DOING?!?!" They looked over to see a middle aged woman attempting to block the view of six children, while at the same time looking like she wanted to pummel the two of them into the ground. She turned to the kids. "Shield your eyes, children. This is a sinful and immoral act."

Ziva and Abby turned towards one another, eyebrows quirked, with the thought of 'you have _got_ to be kidding me' running across their minds.

They just stayed silent, hoping that the slightly deranged woman had said what she wanted and would just walk away. They weren't so lucky.

"This is exactly what's wrong in this world!" She continued to yell. "That sick people like you can just do whatever the heck you want to!"

"I don't know what your problem is, lady, but we didn't do anything wrong." Abby said calmly, staying behind Ziva.

The lady just laughed. "What are you? Stupid?"

"She is anything but stupid. In fact, she is the smartest person I have ever met."

"You must not get out that often."

Ziva was quickly growing tired of this. She and Abby were having a wonderful time together until she came and ruined it. It was about time they got back to that. Ziva sighed and rubbed her temple before she spoke. "Why do you not just go? You are wasting my time and yours."

"It is my duty to help those who are misguided."

Ziva just rolled her eyes and turned to Abby. "Is your ankle any better?" Abby nodded. "Then we should keep going." Ziva grabbed a hold of Abby's hand and then they were on their way, walking right past the other group of people without a word.

After a few more minutes of walking they heard the rushing of water. They only had to walk a bit further to see the source. They walked over and stood on the wooden bridge right in front of the falls. Ziva wrapped an arm around Abby's waist and Abby wasted no time in snuggling further in.

"I'm not done talking to you!" The lady from before said, quickly coming up the trail towards them, now without the children.

"We are." Ziva retorted. "You should go back to those kids of yours. What kind of a person leaves their kids in the middle of a forest alone?"

"They are with a few teens, who are a lot more responsible than you two!"

"I am getting very tired of you now." Ziva's eye twitched. She told Abby to stay where she was and then walked over to the other woman. After a few minutes of heated discussion the woman backed away slowly, face white with fear, before she turned around completely and started to sprint.

Ziva grinned, satisfied with the result and walked back over to Abby.

"What did you say?" Abby asked.

"Not much… I may have mentioned death by paperclip though." Ziva smiled mischievously, which caused Abby to chuckle. They stood there watching the falls for a few more minutes, Abby holding onto Ziva's arm as she snuggled into her again, when Ziva checked the time.

"We should probably head back if we want to make it out of this forest before nightfall."

XXXXX

"Okay, Probie, maybe that was a little mean." Tony conceded after being yelled at by McGee for awhile. "You can choose the last thing, then." He wasn't very worried about McGee picking anything too bad, since the Sci-Fi thing was pretty much the worst possible.

McGee thought for a bit then decided. "How about that Gameworks thing?"

"Gameworks?"

"Its like a giant arcade for adults." McGee said.

"Seriously? Awesome! Finally a good choice out of you!"

It wasn't that far away so it only took a few minutes to get there and about double the time to park.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Abby and Ziva sat down for dinner in the hotel restaurant after they had gotten back and spent some time in their room.

"Do you want the last one?" Abby asked to Ziva, offering her the last roll.

"You go ahead."

"That's not what I asked." Abby sing-songed while biting into the roll. "Too late!" She smiled.

Ziva just smiled at her before she spoke. "Do you know what the boys are up to?"

Abby shook her head. "But knowing them, its probably something childish."

XXXXX

"Take that, McGee!" Tony yelled before his character dropped kicked McGee's. A few seconds later the screen blinked 'WINNER: PLAYER 1' as Tony did a victory dance.

"Congratulations, Tony, you beat me at a video game." McGee said sarcastically.

"Whatever I'm still the bes- Ooh! Let's play that one." He pointed to a row of racing games.

McGee just rolled his eyes and followed.

Tony plopped down into a seat and put his coins in. Since it was a game where you race against others that are there he had to wait for the next race to start.

In a few seconds they were off. McGee's car stayed pretty much near the front the whole time, while Tony's was always slightly behind him. Near the end of the race, however, Tony got up to first only to have a car knock him back into second right before the finish. McGee finished in third.

"What the? Who was that?" Tony looked along the row to look for someone who looked like they just won until he heard…

"Grandma, look, you won!"

His head snapped to his left and he saw an elderly woman of no less than 90 give a high five to the person, he assumed was her grandson, next to her.

Tony fell back in his seat. "That's just great! I was beaten by someone who has to remember to put her teeth in."

"It's just a game, Tony."

"What do you care, you weren't even winning."

"That's because I was trying to have fun, not trying to be competitive. You should try it." McGee got up and headed to another set of games.

Tony thought for a second, and then bolted up after him. "Wait up, Elf lord!"

XXXXX

The girls were halfway through their dinner, eating in a comfortable silence, when Abby spoke up. "What do you want to do tomorrow?"

Ziva thought for a moment. "We could go explore the pier. There is an aquarium, perhaps we can go there."

Abby nodded her head in approval. She opened her mouth to speak but then shut it in hesitation. Ziva noticed this.

"What is it Abby?"

"It's just that… are we – are we gonna tell anyone about us?"

"I do not know. I am fine if you wish to tell your family but I do not think it is such a good idea to tell mine."

Abby just nodded in understanding then thought about how her family would react to the news. "You know, I think they might be okay with it." Abby finally said. "But I don't see them until Christmas."

"That is only a few months away." Ziva stated.

"I know it's just that I want people to know. I want to shout it from the rooftops." Abby said, grinning.

Ziva just chuckled.

XXXXX

"Man, I'm starving" Tony said after they had just finished blasting some zombies.

"Me too."

"It's no wonder; you threw up everything you had for lunch after bungee jumping." Tony laughed at the memory.

McGee just scowled. "Thanks for reminding me."

They went over to the bar and sat down. They looked over the menu for a bit until the bartender came over.

"What can I get for you guys?"

"Can we start with the 3-alarm wings?" Tony said.

"You sure? They are really spicy."

"I can handle it!" Tony said haughtily.

The bartender just nodded his head before he asked what they wanted to drink and then left.

In a few minutes the food and drinks were there. Tony offered McGee some but he declined. Tony picked up a wing and bit into it.

As soon as he took a bite he knew he was in trouble but he tried to keep his composure. The tears that ran down his face kind of gave him away but he kept eating.

Inside he was screaming in agony. He had never tasted anything so spicy in his life. He finished the last one and then excused himself. He calmly walked away but then started into a sprint as soon as he was out of sight. He didn't know where to go so he just dashed into the bathroom and stuck his head under the sink, attempting to flood the pain out of his mouth.

Minutes later he calmly walked out, happy that his face was no longer on fire and rejoined McGee at the bar.

"Did you have trouble Tony?" McGee asked gesturing to Tony's soaking wet shirt.

"It was… raining." Tony lied.

McGee just nodded his head, unbelieving, and took a drink from his soda.

Soon they were ready to order their dinner. Tony went with a hamburger and McGee went with a chicken dish. While they were eating they chatted about the case and mostly about what a jerk Owen was.

XXXXX

Ziva and Abby entered their hotel room feeling full and tired but happy about what they did that day.

Ziva collapsed on the bed and Abby soon followed, landing slightly on top of Ziva, her head resting on the other girl's chest. Abby soon wrapped an arm around her. They rested together comfortably and quietly. Abby soon fell asleep after listening the sound of Ziva's heart beating and Ziva followed not soon after.

Sometime in the middle of the night Ziva bolted awake. She was sweating and could only remember bits and pieces of the dream she had just had. Her father had found out about them and forced her to break up with Abby. When she refused he was about to do something terrible. Ziva shook her head, trying to snap out of it. It was only a dream and was not real. It took her about a half hour to try to rid the seemingly real dream from her mind and fall back asleep, holding onto Abby as if she was going to lose her.

They woke up and detangled themselves from eachother but stayed in bed for a few minutes before they got done and decided to head downstairs for breakfast. There were only a few other people there as it was still rather early. They headed over to the buffet set up. Ziva got a plate of eggs and fruit while Abby got a bowl of cereal. It was silent for a while until Abby spoke up.

"Can we check out the pool after this?" She asked.

Ziva nodded. "That sounds nice." She said as she speared a piece of an apple before she ate it.

"Good morning my dear girls." Ducky said as he sat down next to them with a plate of waffles. "How has your morning been?" Abby nodded her head since her mouth was full of cereal.

"It has been good. Yours?" Ziva asked.

"Very good."

Abby and Ziva chatted with Ducky while they ate and even for a while after they were finished. Eventually Abby stood up during a comfortable silence.

"It was nice talking to you Ducky but Ziva and I are going to check out the pool now." She grabbed Ziva's arm and dragged her to the elevator. Ducky yelled out for them to have fun before the doors closed.

It was just a short while before they were ready and went down to the indoor pool, which had no one else there. Ziva jumped in and started to do laps, leaving Abby standing there at the edge of the pool. She slowly lowered herself in and found the pool to be slightly cold. She watched Ziva swim back and forth for a while before she smiled and swam over to the other girl.

She stopped right in front of Ziva, causing her to stop what she was doing and look up quizzically. Abby just moved her hands up and splashed Ziva before she swam away.

Ziva just looked over at Abby, surprised at her actions. Abby just swam back over and splashed her again, hoping that Ziva would take the hint that she is just playing around. She now stayed in front of Ziva waiting to see what she would do. It wasn't long until Ziva splashed her back and thus started a splash war.

The splash war went on for a couple of minutes until Ziva decided to tackle Abby after she had just been splashed. They went underwater but quickly came back up. Ziva pinned Abby against the pool edge.

"Do I win?" Ziva asked.

"Yes, yes, you win!" Abby conceded as she faked a struggle against Ziva's grasp.

"What is my prize?" She tilted her head and looked deeply into the scientist's eyes.

"Hmm…" Abby thought for a second. "I don't know what you could possibly want from me." Her eyes twinkled mischievously.

"Really?" Ziva acted surprised. "I can certainly think of something." She leaned in closer.

Abby waited until Ziva closed her eyes and then she grabbed her and spun her around so she was now against the wall.

Abby's smile was wide now as she had her hands pressed against the ex-Mossad officer's shoulders.

Ziva gave her a 'what are you going to do now?' look as she stood there, not even attempting an escape.

Abby, thinking what to do next, pushed slightly harder against Ziva as she was afraid of losing the advantage.

Ziva's eyebrow went up as she realized Abby wasn't going to do anything. She then hooked her legs behind Abby's and pulled, causing Abby to fall forward and lose her grip on the other girl. Ziva grabbed Abby by the waist and dragged her out into the middle of the pool where it was still shallow enough for them to stand.

Abby, her back to Ziva's front, reached behind her and grabbed Ziva's backside which caught Ziva off guard and caused her to let her go. Abby turned around and quickly caught Ziva's lips in a kiss that went on for a few minutes. They pulled away.

Abby closed her eyes. "Marco!" She yelled and waited for a few seconds. She opened one eye and saw Ziva with one eyebrow up. "You seriously don't know this game?" She asked.

"Abby, the only thing I have ever done in a swimming pool is swim. I do not know any of these games."

Abby looked shocked but began to explain games she played as a kid like Marco Polo, chicken, and how she would always throw pennies in and she and her cousins would collect as many as they could.

Ziva was intrigued by the explanations and agreed to play some of them with Abby. They did this for a few hours until they decided to go back up stairs.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

A/N: This is the last chapter of this story but there is a sequel in the works. It will be a while before the first chapter is up, however, because I do not have any of it written and I am busy with school. Thanks for reading and I hope you come back for the next installment.

XXXXX

They entered their hotel room and were still trying to dry off. It was now nearing noon and the girls were hungry.

"There is a café not too far from here. Would you like to try it?" Ziva asked from the bathroom as she changed.

"Sure. Maybe we should see if Tony and McGee want to come too." Abby suggested, pulling her shirt on. "I'd be nice to have a little team bonding." She knocked on the door, telling Ziva it was okay to come out. She did.

"I'll go ask them," Ziva said, "I'll be right back." She left their room and headed for the boys' room. She knocked on the door. Tony opened it.

"Ziva? What, fighting with Abby already?"

"We wanted to know if you wished to join us for lunch."

"Sorry, I'm not really up for being a third wheel."

"We were going to ask McGee as well. Think of it as a double date, yes?" She smirked. He sneered at her but stepped back into the room for a second to ask McGee. They both agreed to meet down in the lobby in a few minutes.

Ziva went back to her room and told Abby the news.

XXXXX

When they went downstairs Tony and McGee were already there. They left the lobby and, since it was not too far, walked to the café.

They got their food and found a nice table outside on the patio where it was somewhat crowded.

They began to converse about many different things. The subject of their homes came up.

"I was thinking about looking for a new place to live. My lease is almost up and since I am staying here I thought a nicer place would be good."

"They have some really nice places for sale by me." McGee said. "They are not that expensive and it's pretty close to work."

Ziva thought for a moment. "I will have to look there when we go bac-" Ziva's phone rings, interrupting her. She answers it. "Hello?"

"Get back to the hotel immediately, we are needed for another case. Call Tony and McGee too." Gibbs hung up.

She closed the phone and looked up, seeing everyone else looking at her expectantly. She stood up and said, "Gibbs wants us back at the hotel," before heading in that direction.

Not long after they arrived at the hotel and gotten their things all packed up did Owen and James arrive to give them a ride back to the airport.

They get there and Gibbs heads for the ticket counter.

"Sorry, sir, but the next flight to D.C. isn't until a couple hours." The ticket seller lady says.

Gibbs sighs and says, "Okay we'll take those." She gives it to them and he says thank you.

"Hey Ziva." Owen says walking over to her. "Since you still have a couple hours here what say we go find ourselves a nice private area and get to know each other a little more intimately." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

She just laughs before continuing her conversation with Abby.

He was mad. "That wasn't a question, woman!" He grabbed her arm. She grabbed his hand and pulled him forward before forcing it behind his back, breaking his left arm. She pushed him to the ground then slammed her heel into his chest and snapped his right collar bone. He yelled in pain and then began to weep.

"Good luck wooing women now." Ziva laughed darkly.

James just smiled before he went over to his partner to help him up and then take him to a hospital.

They went through security and over to their gate. Gibbs and Ducky went to go find some coffee.

Abby turned to Ziva after they left. "We still have a while. Wanna explore the airport?"

Ziva just nodded before Abby grabbed her arm and dragged her to a nearby store.

"That just leaves you and me, McGeek." Tony put his hand on McGee's shoulder.

McGee just sighed before he asked, "What do you want to do, Tony?"

Tony just thought for a second before he replied. "I think I'm gonna give you a little DiNozzo lesson."

McGee's eyebrow went up. "What kind of lesson?"

"Just watch and learn, Probie." Tony said as he walked over to a table with one woman occupying it.

He was over there for a few minutes before he came back. In his hand he had a napkin with a phone number written on it.

"See? It's not too hard." He waved the napkin in front of McGee's face. "Wanna give it a try?"

"I don't know, Tony. I really don't see a point, I mean we are thousands of miles away from home and never gonna see these people again."

"No better place for practice. And you can use all of it you can." Tony said. McGee glared at him. Tony pointed to a woman sitting in a chair, apparently waiting for her flight. "Why don't you try and get her number? If you get it, I'll buy you a drink when we get back."

McGee knew that there was really no way of not doing this so he just went with it. "Alright I'll give it a shot."

McGee walked over there. "Uhmm… hi?"

The woman looked up. "Do I kno- wait… Timmy? Timmy McGee?"

McGee was surprised. "Uh… yeah. How do you-?"

"We went to high school together. You don't remember? Jill Taylor?" She stood up.

McGee's face lit up in recognition. "Oh my god!" He got an idea. "Listen, Jill, my friend Tony convinced me to try and get a phone number out of you and-"

"Consider it done." She grabbed a pen out of her purse and grabbed McGee's hand and began to write her number on it. "Which one is he?"

"Two o'clock."

"The cocky looking brunette?"

"That's the one."

"Gotcha." She leaned up and pressed her lips to his cheek. "It was nice seeing you, Tim."

"Uh… Y-yeah. You too, Jill." He started to walk away but she pulled him back.

"And I do hope you will call me. I'm looking forward to catching up with you." She winked at him, and then walked away.

McGee walked back to Tony, whose jaw was almost to the floor. "Looks like you owe me a drink, Tony." McGee smiled.

"Y-yeah.." Tony was still not believing what happened. He shook his head. "This has been a weird couple of days."

XXXXX

Soon their flight took off. Abby and Ziva spent a good amount of it talking about random things. At one point Abby was telling a story of how she and the nuns began to bowl together, while Ziva told Abby of how she used to enjoy playing chess with an aunt back in Israel. Tony spent a good amount of the flight asking McGee what he said to Jill to get her to give him the number, but McGee wouldn't tell him. Ducky read a medical magazine while Gibbs slept.

In just a few hours they landed in D.C. and headed to NCIS headquarters.

When they got to their bullpen Director Vance was waiting for them.

"This is the security footage of the restaurant right before it blew up. One of the victims is Petty Officer Janet Adams." Director Vance said before he pressed play on the remote.

The camera was pointed to the back, where the explosion started. They saw a woman sit down in a booth and begin to look through the breakfast menu. Every once in a while she would look up, as if she was waiting for someone to join her. A server came by and got her some coffee before a man walked up and joined her.

Ziva, watching carefully, felt her heart stop in surprise. "Him!" She pointed at the screen. "Zoom in on him!" Director Vance pressed the required buttons.

"You know him, Ziva?" Gibbs asks.

Ziva nods. "He is Mossad."

To Be Continued…


End file.
